Endowment fund to aid Kachemak
The Homer Foundation has set up a new fund designated to help fund projects and programs to benefit residents "in and around Kachemak City."

As part of a category of similar endowment funds, the Kachemak City Fund was set up with a $10,000 donation from the city, according to Joy Steward, director of the Homer Foundation. As an endowment, the principal will remain intact, with the earnings used to fund appropriate projects.

No specific projects or grant recipients have been designated, according to Phil Morris, mayor of Kachemak City. Selecting the grants will be up to the foundation, which manages the fund.

"We've always been a supporter of the Homer Foundation and the city of Kachemak thought we should have our own fund," Morris said Monday.

The initial $10,000 to set up the fund came from surplus funds from earnings on cash balances the city has accumulated, Morris said.

The Homer Foundation manages about 25 different funds, Steward said, including an endowment fund for the city of Homer. Other such "field of interest funds" include the Brother Asaiah Bates Fund designed to aid children and families at risk through the Headstart program, and the Ashley J. Logan Fund to benefit area youth.

Since 1991, the Homer Foundation has distributed more than $405,000 in grants in the area, Steward said.